The Great Pumpkins

The organizers of the annual Nekoosa Giant Pumpkin Fest couldn't have asked for more appropriate weather today! Totally autumn. It was crisp and sunny. A little too breezy for my taste, but we'll let it slide.

First on the agenda today was the 5K Pumpkin Run sponsored by Nekoosa Ambulance -- who thankfully were not called to respond to any participants in the run! I decided last week I'd give this run a try. I haven't run a 5K in 3 years so I was out of sync with this. Sure I ran that 10K last month and this is only half the distance, but I prefer distance over speed. I think.

Other than facing the wind for a lot of the race, I had a few things going for me. One, I was well rested (ha). Two, it was my perfect running weather. I love it between 40 and 50. Three, I had support of my 2 nearest neighbors plus a friend from church.



The race was run though some neighborhoods in Nekoosa since the recent flooding of Riverside Park there forced all fest-related events to new locations in the city. So it was weird not having a clue where we were going but I kind of liked it. It made the race seem shorter. (It's all mind games.)


Seriously, I did not get tired at all. I felt really good and full of energy. And, as it turned out, I finished in a personal-best time. And my minutes-per-mile pace was faster than my 10K by a minute and a half (less than 9-minute miles!). So I was thrilled. All 3 of the "Desperate Housewives of Blue Jay Drive" - Niki on left and Cindy on right - posted best times today. We rock!


After the race, I had to buzz home, shower and return to Nekoosa to work concessions for the Assumption Music Parents Association. Carter came with because there are some cool things to see there like, oh, GIANT pumpkins! That is the name of the festival after all!


There were some neat carved ones by some talented folks.

This guy was working on his second pumpkin face when we got there.

Before we left at the end of the day, we got to see both pumpkins. Pretty cool, huh?

Now for the Giant Pumpkins. These must have been the inspiration for Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin! See how flat they are because they can't hold their weight? We're talking 500-1,500 pound pumpkins for this event. A 1,600-pound one would have been a world record. I don't know if they got that high because I had to go work concessions.

Here's my "li'l pumpkin" standing next to a not-so-little pumpkin!

They use a mini-crane to pick them up and set them on the scale.

How 'bout these melons?!? They had produce, huge produce of all kinds there from melons to gourds. Very cool!

Although my chocolate-dipped cheesecake on a stick that I had for "lunch" wasn't that big, the pumpkin-pie flavored ice cream cone I had for "supper" certainly ranked right up there. Now that would be a fun record to break!

Maybe next year....